Our Growing Faith (& Eli): 08/01/2009

We have a 2 year old in our midst and we are LOVING life!! He is a joy to us for countless reasons (more on that later).

Here is a recap of his 2nd birthday party. Mickey Mouse themed, of course!

Our gift to him was a water table that we wanted to set out at his party. Therefore, he opened it a few days early.

Here's the table that I decorated... The red Mickey bags were party favors filled with a lots of Mickey goodies!

We read a Mickey Birthday book and shared our Mystery Mousekatools

Played with bubbles

And had lots of outdoor fun!

Time to eat...(kids food)

Grown-ups food

Cake time!

Eli said "Hi" to each of the characters. He was so excited to see them!

Faith enjoying her piece of cake

Sweetest 2 year old ever!!

Present time!

Here is Eli (being held by Daddy) on his first Birthday Sunday at church. A monthly event that is so precious!!

Eli, Happy Birthday! We love you so very much!!

*P.S. I realize Eli's birthday was in June. I am a bit behind and Blogger was giving me fits when I tried to write this post several weeks ago.

This one's for you, Kelly!

Well, obviously it's been a looooong time since I've blogged. I joined the Facebook bandwagon a few months ago and have neglected the blog ever since. I will say I've missed it....especially once I look back on the old posts and how well I recorded our daily life. This makes me sad b/c I've failed to record SO MUCH great stuff. I guess I'll just sum it up w/ this post and start over. I've already recorded WAY more info (milestones, pics, events) in Faith and Eli's baby books than my mom recorded in mine. I think there was one sentence in my baby book about what kind of child I was. I think I've turned out just fine so I know Faith and Eli will too.....but I still want to do a better job keeping up w/ them!

P.S. Blogger is acting weird and I can't get the pics to move like I wanted so they too are a bit random!

Here's a list of "random updates" from the Sanderson family....

1) In case you missed it, we moved to TN this fall. We are LOVING it. It feels like home and we are beyond thankful for the countless blessings we experience daily as a result of this move.

2) I am trying to lose weight. I know my last several blog posts (while very old) have talked about this. I have been VERY frustrated by this journey. I have yet (6+ months later) to see any visible results (no weight loss, no drop in clothing size, no inches lost). I have cried about it a lot. I don't know what the deal is but I am seeking out some "professional" help (i.e. counseling) to help dig a little deeper.

3) I have a new job!! It's bound to come out sooner or later. I have accepted a job with the CIA! (uhhhh....Currey Ingram Academy that is! www.curreyingram.org) It's a FANTASTIC opportunity for me to work at this AMAZING school. It's a private school for children w/ learning differences. (It's similar to The Shelton School in Dallas....one of my favorite jobs!) I will work 3 days a week (on Murray's day off and then on the 2 days that the kids are in preschool).

4) We are moving Faith and Eli into the same room. They get along so well and we thought they would enjoy this time together while they are little! It's been SO FUN to see them build this very special friendship!

5) The kid's room is going to be decorated in safari decor. My sister-in-law, Darla gave us some SUPER cute stuffed animal heads (lion, rhino, and zebra) that she used in my nephew's room when he was younger. I found the PERFECT coordinating quilts (one in boy colors, one in girl colors) at Target...on clearance! So excited to put it all together. My good friend, Angel, is a interior decorator and she is helping me. I LOVE these kind of projects. I made some SUPER CUTE pillowcases to go w/ the quilts. (LOVED picking out the fabrics for that!!).

6) Eli's language has EXPLODED!! I so wish I had kept a record of all this while it was happening. Not that I could've kept up but still. It is so fun to see all this language come out of him. (b/c of my profession, I realize what a BLESSING this is. I truly am thankful for it!!)

7) Eli really has a funny personality and he knows it! He says funny little things and then puts in a little pause w/ a smile and waits for you to laugh at him. Hard to explain w/ just words but it sure is cute! Man, I love this kid!!

8) Faith is my little rule follower. I love explaining something to her and hearing her accept the logic and appreciate the rule-driveness of it. She then becomes the little enforcer. "Eli, we don't write on the walls. Eli we need to put our toys away before we play outside, etc."

9) Faith also has a very tender heart. Randomly all thruout the day she'll say, "Mommy I love you." "Daddy, I love you." (in the sweetest voice EVER!!). She also quickly says, "I won't do that again" when she gets in trouble for something. My favorite thing she's done this week is ask about Nana. When we've called Murray to check on his mom (she had a stroke earlier this week), she says hi to Daddy and then quickly says, "So how's Nana doing? Are you putting her head up for her?" This is totally unprompted and is amazing for me to see her thinking of others so compassionately! Love it!

10) Murray is doing an AWESOME job leading worship at OC. We have received so much positive and encouraging feedback from friends, members and the leadership. What a blessing it has been to see him thrive in this position. (and to see him recognized for doing such a great job!)

11) My grandma turned 90 this summer. We (my entire family) threw a big reception to honor her. It was one of my favorite days. Tons of people poured into the church to shower her with cards and encouraging words. I LOVED getting to see this! She is a hero of mine in the biggest way! I love her so much!

12) I have found an accountability group that I love. We call it "being real". It's nice to have a safe place where you can do that. I think everyone should be a part of one!

13) I am joining BSF next month. I can hardly wait for it to start. The kids are old enough now to be in the kids program. I've heard AWESOME things about that and I wish it started tomorrow!

14) Faith loves: dancing (she starts a free dance class next month!!), Belle, singing, her friends, her FAVORITE friend, Mrs. Kelly, painting, helping, telling stories, playing w/ Daddy, getting treats, talking about her day, rocking in the rocking chair w/ Mommy and snuggling!

15) Eli loves: Mickey Mouse, elephants, going to the zoo, Chuck E. Cheese, Raffi, reading books, playing outside, playing hide-n-seek (where you hide a toy and have him go find it), being tickled, hopping, being onstage, playing w/ Sissy, the colors orange and pink (I think Dunkin Donuts is responsible for this!) praying for Xiolynn, and playing with his buddy, Bennett.

These are totally random updates. I know I left out a lot but I wanted to post something to get me started. I will be posting pics from Eli's 2nd birthday party very soon! What a fun day that was!!

We have LOVED having our dear friends, Travis, Kelly and Bennett living in N'ville w/ us! Faith and Eli are HUGE FANS of all things Speck!